All for One (Part 3)

Jason winced as the doctor stitched up the knife wound in his side. "You need to stop picking fights, Mr. Miller. This is definitely one of the more serious injuries you've gotten." Jason nodded with a smile. "Thanks doctor." The doctor left, leaving the 11 year old Jason with Ms. Harper and the young Chris. Ms. Harper stood up. "Why would you fight those high schoolers?! Are you insane?!" Jason didn't answer as he started to put his bloody shirt back on. The single mother stopped her unofficial child and handed him one of Chris's shirts. Jason smiled. "An All Might shirt!" Jason excitedly put it on. Ms. Harper wasn't done lecturing him. "Next time you are in a situation like that, you run! Do you understand me?!" Jason lost his smile. "...No. No, I won't run away." Ms. Harper was frustrated beyond belief. Chris looked up at his best friend. "...Jason… What if they kill you one day…?" Jason looked down at his friend from the hospital bed. "Chris, I learned the hard way that once you start running, you'll never stop running." He looked down at the ground, depressed. "...That's why you have to fight… Even if you know you'll lose…"

Chris watched on in horror as he was forced to watch his best friend confront All for One. Surprisingly, Jason was holding his own. The hero in training was narrowly dodging the villain's energy based attacks. Jason was able to get in close and land several powerful punches on All for One's sides. The villain shouted in frustration as he powered up his arms and brought them down. Jason jumped, dodging to the side. All for One raised a hand and started loading a shockwave. Jason rolled behind All for One, successfully dodging the devastating attack. Jason spun around and slammed his foot into the villain's leg. All for One fell, dropping to his knees. Jason was quick to get back up and got for the finishing blow to the head. All for One caught the punch and threw Jason across the field. Jason successfully rolled with it and was quick to his feet. "...Damn… I guess this won't be a quick victory after all…" All for One stood back up. "...You're an annoying little student, aren't you…?" Jason smirked. "Nah. I'm just very stubborn."

Shoto was in a panic. "What does he think he's doing?! If All Might went down fighting All for One, then what makes him think he can win?!" Chris wiped away his tears. "He never runs away from a fight. Ever. Even if there's no chance of winning." Mina looked over at Chris. "We have to help him!" Kirishima shook his head. "If anything, we'll just get in the way, then we'll be back to square one." Momo looked at her friends. "...He's buying time for us to get away…" Shoto froze up before her tears started flowing. "...No…" Chris went back to focusing on the fight. "I'm staying. Period." The group looked amongst themselves before focusing back on the fight.

Jason charged forward. All for One fired off another shockwave. However, it was small. All for One was losing strength. Jason easily rolled out of the way and charged forward again, landing a solid hit on All for One. The villain let out an audible grunt before trying to punch back. Jason jumped back and landed three powerful kicks on All for One's exposed side. Then Jason spun around and jabbed his arm, temporarily paralyzing the limb. For the briefest of moments, Jason was winning.

Then All for One got too annoyed. All for One focused his shockwave quirk into a final shockwave and aimed down at the ground. Jason took the impact full force, but managed to put his guard up at the last second. Jason was sent rolling. He did manage to end up on his feet, but he was beyond exhausted now. All for One faced Jason. "...You did a good job, Jason… If you were the one to inherit One for All, I might've been in trouble… but I'm afraid that your life has come to an end…"

Jason scoffed, just staring at the ground. "What life?" All for One and All Might were taken back by this out of character statement. Jason sighed in defeat. "...I knew I never had a shot at beating you… Hell, I never had a chance at being a hero…" Jason stood up straight. "I never had a chance without a quirk…" He started tearing up. "...I tried my best to live my own life… To forge my own path…" He looked up at All Might. "...I tried, All Might… I tried to become a Symbol of Hope: proof that anyone can be a hero as long as their heart is in the right place…" Jason looked down at the ground again. "...I made friends… I found people I would give my life for… But it's all for nothing…" Jason looked down at his trembling hand. "...I was a fool for thinking I could live my life... a quirkless hero? What a joke…" Jason wiped away his tears and faced All for One. He wasn't smiling anymore. "I am no longer fighting for my future. I've given up on that. I only have one purpose now: to make sure Chris lives long enough to kill you."

Jason reached his right hand up into the sky. In a sudden turn of events, Jason's arm lit up the night sky with all the colors of the rainbow. All Might's eyes widened. "...What is this…?" Chris was completely taken back. He had known Jason almost his entire life and had never heard about this. Jason glared at All for One. "This is my everything, All for One. I know this won't kill you, but I already know that it's not my destiny. Chris will be the one to kill you." All for One activated the same quirks he used to defeat All Might. "Fine. I'll give you the burial you so desperately crave for, Endgame." Jason and All for One charged forward fists about to clash.

At the last possible second, Jason ducked and spun, transferring the quirk's power to his left arm. It was an open shot. All for One brought his left hand up and caught Jason's arm. The light disappeared. Jason looked shocked. All for One looked down at him. "...That trick…" He spun to the right, still holding Jason. "...Won't work twice…!" Jason clenched his teeth. This had been the plan from the start. Jason planted his feet and threw his weight in the opposite direction. The result was All for One tearing off Jason's left arm. Suddenly, a bright light blinded All for One. The villain was frozen. He had been outsmarted again. His left side was wide open now. Jason's power had returned to the right arm. All for One swung his left arm in a vain attempt to stop him, but Jason ducked underneath the arm. With all of his might, Jason slammed his fist into All for One's rib cage. Chris could hear the crunching of ribs as the bones punctured All for One's heart and lung. The resulting shockwave shook the already destabilized ground and sent All Might flying. It was no United States of Smash, but it got the job done. All for One's healing quirk had been overtaxed. The villain was no longer moving. Jason was gasping for air as he stared down at the villain. He used the rest of his strength to turn to the building Chris was set up on. He whispered something that only Chris could hear. "...Make it count…" Jason fell to his knees, then fell onto his face. Just like All for One, he was out cold.

All Might and Chris were on top of the roof of a hospital on the far side of the city. "You shouldn't have come." "...I'm sorry, All Might…" "You all could've gotten killed." "...We knew that, All Might…" The Number One Hero hit his student on top of the head. "Then why did you come?!" Chris looked down. "...Because we had to…" All Might stared down at his apprentice before sighing. "...You're just like me…" Chris looked up. All Might smiled. "Your heart is in the right place. That's what's most important." He hugged the hero in training. "...One for All has left me… i can only hold the form for a few seconds now…" Chris hugged his teacher, crying now. All Might said nothing. It was ok to cry at this moment. "...Now it's your turn, kid…"

Chris and All Might entered the hospital and went to go check on Jason. Shoto, Mina, Kirishima, and Momo were all waiting. Recovery Girl walked up. "Well… I have good news and better news…" Kirishima looked up. "...We definitely need both of those at this point…" Recovery Girl nodded. "Well, the good news is that you all got him here in time for me to save his arm." All Might gave out a big sigh of relief. "Thank god." "And the better news is that he's expected to make a full recovery by the end of the week." Shoto looked like she had just tossed the weight of the world off of her shoulders. Chris was even more relieved. "When can we see him?" Recovery Girl opened the door to his room. "He woke up just a few seconds after we brought him in." The five friends, the teacher, and a nurse all walked into the room. Jason was looking out the window. Chris smiled. "...hey bro…" Jason rolled his head over to look at the group. Chris stopped. Those weren't the bright eyes of his friend. It was like all the life had left Jason. Mina was smiling. "You were amazing out there." Momo nodded. "I can't believe we pulled it off. I can't believe you actually beat a villain of that power." Kirishima was excited too. "What the hell was that punch?! That was amazing?!" Jason didn't say a word. He weakly pointed to Kirishima, beckoning him to come closer. Kirishima approached his friend's bedside. Jason grabbed his waistband, pulling out the pocket knife the redhead always kept on him. "Hey, what is it? That was a secret, bro." Jason flicked the knife open and just stared at the blade. Then, to the horror of everyone in the room, he took the blade to his own wrist.

His friends pinned his arms as the nurse called for more help. Chris grabbed Jason by the hair and shook him. "What the hell are you doing bro?!" Jason didn't say a word. During all the chaos, Jason dropped the knife, his blood splattering onto the floor.